Defiling the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ, is also considered a sin of extreme gravity and one which is on the increase, the high-ranking members of the tribunal said.

This illustrates why religious values are a poor guide for human morality. Desecration of a symbol (though Catholic believe the Eucharist IS the body of Christ) is ranked as a worse sin than, say, a priest molesting a child or a man murdering his wife.

There is no rational, moral logic to that conclusion. It's just wrong. The Catholic Church's only basis for that ranking is belief, the belief that offending God is the greatest sin.

Morality should focus on preventing human pain and suffering, not on offending a believed-in God. Why is human pain and suffering less important than desecrating unleavened bread that is believed to be the body of Christ? Because the Catholic Church tells us we should be believe that. Nothing more. Just their religious authority.

The religious claim there is no morality without religion. No way. The Catholic Church's ranking of sins reveals why religious values can be an awful guide to morality.